Container closure



Patented July 27, 1948 ooNrAiNEa oLosURE Joseph Robinson, New York, N Y.

Application January 8, 1945, Serial No. 571,748

Wartime transportation of petroleum and petroleumproducts multiplied many times the number of closures normally used for closing the containers in which these products are shipped.

This tremendous numerical increase, and the experience resulting from it, revealedfaults not heretofore evident in existing closures. One of `the closures most generally used (United States Patent No 1,982,145) employs a, square cross section gasket which can be used but once and which almost always twists when being applied in the iield. especially in the theaters of-war, where no application tools are available. Since no properly formed seat is provided in the closure to receive this gasket it is dilcult to make the closure tightV if its gasket is twistedt The result often' is an imperfect joint through which dangerous and costly leakage occurs. Breathing (sucking in water from'the drum head) is common to this type of closure' for the reason that the sealing gasket, having no proper seat as aforesaid, is crushed imperfectly between the plug andthe insert. 4Being a frail gasket (there is no room in this closure for a stronger size) its normal shape is thereby completely altered, resilience is deadened and deterioration of the gasket as a sealing agency is accelerated. A blow on the top of this closure tends'to move the insert downward and loosen it in its housing in the drum head, further exposing the closure to breathing shrinkage differentials' between its housing and its insert are also frequent causes of leakage with this type of closure, particularly under the high temperatures encountered in desert warfare.

Among the objects of my invention are to so effectively minimize these faults as virtually to remove them; to providea simple closure, having a properly prepared seat for its gasket which preserves the gasket and insures a permanently tight gasket joint; to divide the direction of shrinkage 2 v vation of my improved closure showing the par assembled and the seal cap in place;

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the housing A and the threaded insert C with the parts as they appear in one stage of assembly;

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the insert shown in Figure 2, and,

Figure 4 is a sectional detail of an alternate assembling of the insert in the housing preparatory to thereafter forming the gasket seat i2.

My improvement comprises a slightly funnel shaped, cylindrical housing A of relatively shallow height suitably formed in the drum head B as by pressing. The housing is provided at its bottom `with an annular seat 5 in which the flange 6 of the threaded bushing or insert C rests iiush with the inner face of the drum head. The flange is flattened at 1 to t against a correspondingly at surface 8 in the housingto form a supplemental lock for holding the insert against rotation in the housing. The insert maybe made of any desired material, but I at present press it from sheet metal of suitable thickness. Initially its walls 9 project vertically in a common plane throughout their length and at substantially a right angle to the iiange 6, as indicated in dotted lines i0 in Figure 4; Either before the insert is threaded, or while it is being threaded. or after it has been threaded, its walls above the threads nIl are machined from the inside to approximately half their normal thickness. The thinned threadless portions of the walls is then spun or otherwise expanded laterally of the threads I I to form the gasket seat I2, Figures 1 and 2. The resilient of the closure insert in its housing so as to reduce the tendency of these parts to loosen under high temperatures; to swedge the insert and housing together in a manner which powerfully tightens the assembly and stiiens its resistance to blows,

- and to supplement this anchorage of the insert or pliable sealing ring and friction locking device I4, of suitable cross sectional size and shape, is passed over the top of the insert to the position shown in Figure 2, and the insert is placed in the housing A. A suitable die rolls the upper end of the insert over the top of the housing to form the lapped Joint l5 shown in full lines in Figure i and in dotted lines in Figure 2. The vsame or another die causes the haring walls of the-housing to collapse and, together with the walls 9 of the insert C, to take, as the die strikes home, the nal agenerally V-shaped assembled form. curved at I2-I 5, shown in -Figure 1. bviously this overlapped powerfully crimped interlock between the insert and the housing secures the parts against relative between the ring and the adjacent wall of the y housing A. is such as toV form in itself a strong friction lock against rotation of the insert in the housing. Particularlyv if the ring I4 is dipped in a suitable cement before it is applied. Insertion of the bushing or insert C in the housing A, in preparation for this assembly, is eased by the flare or taper of the housing walls which also facilitates movement of the walls -to the final collapsed generally v-shaped lapped joint formation illustrated in Figure 1. This formation shortens the vertical height oi' the insert C, throws its unthreaded upper portion into a plane at an abrupt angle to the vertical axis of the insert, and makes a compact sturdy closure having high resistance to verticaland lateral blows. The arrangement divides the direction of expansion of the insert so that approximately half thereof is vertical to the axis of the closure and half is at an angle thereto. The result is reduced tendency of the housing A and the insert Cto move vertically relative to each other under desert temperatures. This collapsed V-shaped, tightly swedged lapped joint assembly, curved at i2|3,

tightens, supplementarily to the sealing ring il, against leakage and breathing through the joint between the insert C and the housing A and so firmly anchors the insert in the housing as to permit elimination, if desired, of the stops `I'8 in view particularly of the aforesaid strong friction lock between the insert and the housing formed by the powerfully compressed sealing anchor ring Il. A threaded plug D, Figure l, die cast or otherwise formed of suitable material, and provided with a wrenching lug or lugs i8, is, anged at il to engage the top of the assembled insert C when screwed into the latter. The plug is provided with an annular seat I8 into which closely ts a pliable gasket I9, preferably round in cross section, and adapted to rest in its complementarily shaped laterally oi-set seat I2 on the insert. A suitable seal-cap E is set over the assembled plug, and has its lower edge crimped under the shoulder 20 at the bottom of the lapped joint i5, Figure 1. The seal-cap serves to identify the contents of the drum and to prevent undisclosed tampering therewith. The snug t of the gasket I8 in its complementarily shaped seat |2-i8 provides, when the `gasket is compressed, a permanently tight, leak proof closure joint which will not breathe; which is not adversely affected by twists, few or many. in' the gasket; which preserves the shape of the gasket, prolongs its life for repeated re-.use. and makes rel moval of the plug D always easy by eliminating gasket freezing or fouling in the closure. With closures of the type shown in the aforesaid United States patent gasket "freezing" is a frequent occurence, making plug removal dilcult and requiring that heavy lockingv means be provided to prevent the insert from rotating in its housing when efforts are-made to remove from it a gas ket fouled plug.

4 The modification shown in Figure 4 consists in tightly pressing the insert C in the housing A of the drum head, fully compressing the sealing ring or friction lock i4, and rolling the upper end of 5 the insert over'the top of the housing before the gasket seat I Z is formed. The vertical walls 9 oi the insert above the threads ii, and the adjacent skilledin the art other modifications may occur.

' which do not depart from the spirit or scope of my invention, for which reason I desire not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed.

What I claim is:

In a closure for a container, in combination, anv outwardly struck portion formed from the metal of the container to provide a downwardly facing shoulder and an outwardly extending tubular part of less diameter than said shoulder, a cylindrical spud disposed in said tubularpart and provided at one end with an annular flange which seats against said shoulder, said spud having an outwardly extending sleeve which terminates beyo'nd the outer end of said tubular part and havins also an internally threaded portion which lies above the bottom of said flange and below the base of saidoutwardly extendingsleeve, said sleeve above the threaded portion being off-set laterally outwardly to form an upwardly facing seat for a gasketI andan outwardly opening peripheral groove within which the tubular part is `received in V-shaped cross-section, the apex 35 portionof the V-shaped tubular part extending inwardly to a position beneath the gasket seat and into contact with the spud, the upper end of4 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 640,121 Foreman Dec. 26, 1899 1,982,145 Shera Nov. 27, 1934 2,050,942 Francis Aug. 11, 1936 2,133,852 Dillhoefer Oct. 18, 1938 2,194,147 Mallser ..-A Mar. 19, 1940 2,291,137 Blickle July 28, 1942 2,333,822 Sample et al Nov. 9. 1943 2,369,895 Hanrahan Feb. 20, 1945 

